Cherish
Released: 16.09.89 Highest Chart Position: 3 Weeks on Chart: 8 Total Sales: 200,000
'Cherish' was written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard, and released as the third single from the album Like a Prayer (1989).
The song is built around the themes of love and relationships, with William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet one of its major inspirations. Madonna was reading Romeo and Juliet during the breaks during rehearsals for Speed the Plow, a Broadway show in which she was starring in 1988. On the third day of the Like a Prayer recording sessions, she presented Leonard with the lyrics of 'Cherish', and explained that she had written the song "one sunny afternoon by the beach", but later confessed that it was actually written in her make-up room.
In 2009, during an interview with Rolling Stone, Madonna confessed that she had never been able to predict if her songs would be successful, irrespective of her personal opinion of them. As an example, she cited 'Cherish' as one of the most "retarded" songs she had written, but noted it became a commercial success.
'Cherish' was accompanied by a black-and-white music video that was directed by Herb Ritts and was filmed on 22 July 1989 at Paradise Cove Beach in Malibu, California. One of the reasons that this video was shot in black and white was because the water was very cold, causing Madonna's already pale complexion to look even whiter. Ritts was one of Madonna's preferred photographers at that time and so she asked him to direct the 'Cherish' video. Ritts reportedly tried to talk her out of it saying, "But I'm a still photographer. I don't know anything about film." Undaunted, Madonna replied simply, "Well you have a few weeks to learn." The video was conceptualised by Ritts, who wanted to portray Mermen in their natural habitat, but Madonna baulked at the idea since she wanted to be portrayed as herself, but keep the Mermen also. Four male performers were signed for this, one of them being Tony Ward, who would later become Madonna's boyfriend.
In the UK, the track peaked at no. 3 in September 1989. The chart placing may have been given an additional boost due to the fact that it was backed with a previously unreleased track, 'Supernatural', composed during the recording sessions of her third studio album, True Blue (1986).
The song is built around the themes of love and relationships, with William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet one of its major inspirations. Madonna was reading Romeo and Juliet during the breaks during rehearsals for Speed the Plow, a Broadway show in which she was starring in 1988. On the third day of the Like a Prayer recording sessions, she presented Leonard with the lyrics of 'Cherish', and explained that she had written the song "one sunny afternoon by the beach", but later confessed that it was actually written in her make-up room.
In 2009, during an interview with Rolling Stone, Madonna confessed that she had never been able to predict if her songs would be successful, irrespective of her personal opinion of them. As an example, she cited 'Cherish' as one of the most "retarded" songs she had written, but noted it became a commercial success.
'Cherish' was accompanied by a black-and-white music video that was directed by Herb Ritts and was filmed on 22 July 1989 at Paradise Cove Beach in Malibu, California. One of the reasons that this video was shot in black and white was because the water was very cold, causing Madonna's already pale complexion to look even whiter. Ritts was one of Madonna's preferred photographers at that time and so she asked him to direct the 'Cherish' video. Ritts reportedly tried to talk her out of it saying, "But I'm a still photographer. I don't know anything about film." Undaunted, Madonna replied simply, "Well you have a few weeks to learn." The video was conceptualised by Ritts, who wanted to portray Mermen in their natural habitat, but Madonna baulked at the idea since she wanted to be portrayed as herself, but keep the Mermen also. Four male performers were signed for this, one of them being Tony Ward, who would later become Madonna's boyfriend.
In the UK, the track peaked at no. 3 in September 1989. The chart placing may have been given an additional boost due to the fact that it was backed with a previously unreleased track, 'Supernatural', composed during the recording sessions of her third studio album, True Blue (1986).
UK Variations and Collectables
'Express Yourself' was available in standard 7", 12", cassette single and CD single. It was supplemented with a limited edition 12" picture disc.
For collectors, the 7" pressings once again provide a deciphering challenge, appearing in four different formats with three different track edits. The UK pressings both appeared with 'A' labels, one containing the '7" version', the other containing the 'LP version', while the German pressings appeared with the 'LP version' and a 'Fade' version. Of these, the rarest is the German 'Fade' which also comes with a different rear sleeve design.
The 12" pressings appear in the standard form of UK, German and picture disc but the most interesting item for collectors to look out for is a very rare German 12" that came with a poster. Surprisingly rare for a poster edition, this very scarce item can sell upwards of £50 when it appears for sale.
Other standard formats are the cassette single and a sealed 3” CD single although this would be the last CD single issued in this format.
The centrepiece collectable is, uniquely for a Madonna item, an item that is credited to another artist, namely a mis-pressed 12" picture disc which plays 'Cherish' but has the image of 'State of Mind' by Fish. This item is very scarce and can sell for anything up to £100.
A new addition to this section (and also to 'Like A Prayer' and 'Express Yourself' singles pages is the recent discovery of 'German long box' releases relating to these singles, which also contain UK catalogue numbers as the German releases often did. Unfortunately, as most collectors now know (some to their cost), any 'exciting new discovery' is likely to be a recent forgery (see in particular the 'newly discovered' Japanese promo 7" singles). Assuming these are unofficial it does have to be said that they appear to be of exceptionally good quality and, as happens with these item, on first being made available to buy, do attract eye-wateringly high bids. This website does not endorse unofficial releases so while these items are included for the sake of completion, they are flagged as 'bootlegs'. Let the buyer beware!
For collectors, the 7" pressings once again provide a deciphering challenge, appearing in four different formats with three different track edits. The UK pressings both appeared with 'A' labels, one containing the '7" version', the other containing the 'LP version', while the German pressings appeared with the 'LP version' and a 'Fade' version. Of these, the rarest is the German 'Fade' which also comes with a different rear sleeve design.
The 12" pressings appear in the standard form of UK, German and picture disc but the most interesting item for collectors to look out for is a very rare German 12" that came with a poster. Surprisingly rare for a poster edition, this very scarce item can sell upwards of £50 when it appears for sale.
Other standard formats are the cassette single and a sealed 3” CD single although this would be the last CD single issued in this format.
The centrepiece collectable is, uniquely for a Madonna item, an item that is credited to another artist, namely a mis-pressed 12" picture disc which plays 'Cherish' but has the image of 'State of Mind' by Fish. This item is very scarce and can sell for anything up to £100.
A new addition to this section (and also to 'Like A Prayer' and 'Express Yourself' singles pages is the recent discovery of 'German long box' releases relating to these singles, which also contain UK catalogue numbers as the German releases often did. Unfortunately, as most collectors now know (some to their cost), any 'exciting new discovery' is likely to be a recent forgery (see in particular the 'newly discovered' Japanese promo 7" singles). Assuming these are unofficial it does have to be said that they appear to be of exceptionally good quality and, as happens with these item, on first being made available to buy, do attract eye-wateringly high bids. This website does not endorse unofficial releases so while these items are included for the sake of completion, they are flagged as 'bootlegs'. Let the buyer beware!
Promotional Items
This section starts as always with the usual 7" in stickered sleeve. Moving swiftly on.
Of far more interest is an official 'SAM 568' promotional 12" white label which, after a long run of plain white labels, comes with a proper printed label. In addition there are an extremely limited number that come with a custom sticker. While the authenticity of this sticker cannot be verified, it is of high quality and attracts plenty of interest on the rare occasions it appears for sale attracting winning bids of up to £80.
After a long run of interesting and collectable counterstand displays and flat, 'Cherish' appears bereft as there does not seem to be any such paper-based promotional items which seems rather odd. There are instead, three different music press adverts which were attractively issued with different backgrounds. As with 'Like A Prayer' these were designed to appear exclusively in 'Smash Hit', 'No.1' or 'Just Seventeen' respectively which makes tracking down a full set more of a challenge.
[Amendment - there does appear to be promotional item in the form of a poster that mirrors the poster that was issued in the German 12". This item is very scarce and while some collectors believe it is a bootleg copied from the German 12", others are of the view that it is genuine. It is therefore listed here as a genuine collectable but as with all such items that are so scare they are not commercially verified, the buyer must beware and use their own judgement with regard to price. For this poster, the same valuation of the German poster has been used]
In the absence of record shop display items there are two other promotional items to collect in the form of videos. The first is a cassette exclusively for the 'Cherish' video and comes with the US flag logo on the spine. This format follows on from those issued for 'Like A Prayer' and 'Express Yourself' but would be the last of it's kind.
The second video is an in-store compilation which comes in a plastic case with an official SAM 584 catalogue number on a custom sleeve containing full printed credits. This appears to be the first compilation promo video issued by WEA that comes professionally packaged - other compilation have been in plain cardboard slip cases. The title and packaging is a quirky play on the autumn season; such humour would be a running theme with future compilation videos. 'Twelve Titles' appears to refer to LPs hence Madonna "Like A Prayer" appearing as one of the 'titles' with the two promo videos ('Like A Prayer' and 'Cherish') listed underneath.
ALL PROMOTIONAL ITEMS CAN BE VIEWED IN THE PROMO SECTION - FOR ITEMS RELATING TO THIS RELEASE CLICK HERE
Of far more interest is an official 'SAM 568' promotional 12" white label which, after a long run of plain white labels, comes with a proper printed label. In addition there are an extremely limited number that come with a custom sticker. While the authenticity of this sticker cannot be verified, it is of high quality and attracts plenty of interest on the rare occasions it appears for sale attracting winning bids of up to £80.
After a long run of interesting and collectable counterstand displays and flat, 'Cherish' appears bereft as there does not seem to be any such paper-based promotional items which seems rather odd. There are instead, three different music press adverts which were attractively issued with different backgrounds. As with 'Like A Prayer' these were designed to appear exclusively in 'Smash Hit', 'No.1' or 'Just Seventeen' respectively which makes tracking down a full set more of a challenge.
[Amendment - there does appear to be promotional item in the form of a poster that mirrors the poster that was issued in the German 12". This item is very scarce and while some collectors believe it is a bootleg copied from the German 12", others are of the view that it is genuine. It is therefore listed here as a genuine collectable but as with all such items that are so scare they are not commercially verified, the buyer must beware and use their own judgement with regard to price. For this poster, the same valuation of the German poster has been used]
In the absence of record shop display items there are two other promotional items to collect in the form of videos. The first is a cassette exclusively for the 'Cherish' video and comes with the US flag logo on the spine. This format follows on from those issued for 'Like A Prayer' and 'Express Yourself' but would be the last of it's kind.
The second video is an in-store compilation which comes in a plastic case with an official SAM 584 catalogue number on a custom sleeve containing full printed credits. This appears to be the first compilation promo video issued by WEA that comes professionally packaged - other compilation have been in plain cardboard slip cases. The title and packaging is a quirky play on the autumn season; such humour would be a running theme with future compilation videos. 'Twelve Titles' appears to refer to LPs hence Madonna "Like A Prayer" appearing as one of the 'titles' with the two promo videos ('Like A Prayer' and 'Cherish') listed underneath.
ALL PROMOTIONAL ITEMS CAN BE VIEWED IN THE PROMO SECTION - FOR ITEMS RELATING TO THIS RELEASE CLICK HERE
7" Single - Standard release with 'LP version'
7" Single - Alternate release with '7" version'
7" Single - Alternate release with '7" version' indented
7" Single - Alternative 'Large Logo' Label 'LP version'
7" Single - German pressing for UK release
7" Single - German rare alternative 'fade' version with alternate rear sleeve design
12" Single - Standard Release
12" Single - German pressing with UK catalogue number
12" Single - German limited edition in stickered sleeve with poster (UK catalogue number on rear sleeve and label)
12" Single - Picture disc
12" Single - Mispressed picture disc with Fish - 'State of Mind' image
Cassette Single
3" CD Single - Sealed
See also 'Other Promo Videos' in the VIDEOS tab for
1. 'Cherish' - WEA in-store promotional video
2. 'Twelve Title to Fall For' compilation promotional video including 'Cherish' and also 'Like A Prayer'
BOOTLEG - German CD long box
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© madonna-decade 2013
© madonna-decade 2013
